The English Electric Canberra was Britain's first jet bomber, the prototype making its maiden flight on 13th May 1949 from Warton, Lancs, powered by two 6000lb (2722kg) thrust Avon R.A.2 turbojets. The first Canberra delivered to the RAF was a B.Mk.2 on 25th May 1951 and this was followed by a further 415 B.Mk.2s. Production of this superb aircraft of all variants totalled 1,352 before construction came to an end. Of this figure, 901 were built by English Electric and its subcontractors (Avro, Handley Page and Shorts); 48 were built under licence in Australia for service with the RAAF and in the USA, the Martin company of Baltimore, Maryland, built an additional 403 under licence, designated the B-57. The Martin B-57 Canberra was a rare example of a foreign designed military aircraft being built under licence by an American manufacturing company for use by the US armed forces. The last previous such example was the DeHavilland DH-4 of World War I. After the Korean conflict began in 1950, the USAF contracted with the Glenn L. Martin Co. to build the Canberra in the US under a licensing agreement with English Electric. The Martin built B-57 made its first flight on July 20, 1953, and when production ended in 1959, a total of 403 Canberras had been produced for the USAF.

Designed s a successor to the de Havilland Mosquito, the English Electric Canberra was first flown on May 13, 1949. Like the Mosquito, this high-altitude, high-speed bomber had no defensive armament. Instead, it was designed with room only for a large bomb load and two powerful jet engines, and with a state-of-the-art aerodynamic shape and the speed to avoid airborne conflict altogether. Its design was so adaptable that its role was expanded to include tactical bombing and reconnaissance. It set a world altitude record in 1957 and served for an astonishing 57 years, retiring in 2006.

Corgi's 1:72 scale Canberra is one of the largest of any jet models available in this scale, similar in size to a WWII heavy bomber. The massive wing with its long integrated engine nacelles features turbofan and exhaust details at the rear. The robust landing gear with actuator and is easy to install and locks into place for ground display. The nose has a transparent bomb-aimers window, a large bubble fighter-style canopy and a pilot figure. The series includes both early and late variants with a heavily offset tear drop canopy featured on the later variant.

The Corgi "Aviation Archive" range presents highly-detailed, ready-made diecast models of military and civilian aircraft. The vast Aviation Archive range has become the standard by which all other diecast airplane ranges are judged. Each Corgi model is based on a specific aircraft from an important historical or modern era of flight, and has been authentically detailed from original documents and archival library material. Famous airplanes and aviators from both military and commercial airline aviation are all honored.

Corgi "Aviation Archive" diecast airplanes feature:

Diecast metal construction with some plastic components.

Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.

Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.

Interchangeable extended/retracted landing gear with rotating wheels.

Poseable presention stand to display the aircraft "in flight".

Many limited editions with numbered certificate of authenticity.

Detailed, hand-painted pilot and crew member figures.

Authentic detachable ordnance loads complete with placards.

Selected interchangeable features such as speed-brakes, opened canopies and access panels.

Selected moving parts such as gun turrets, control surfaces and swing-wings.